The Storm
by PDavis32
Summary: A storm in the making brings two strangers together, closer than they thought they would ever get with someone else again. They were but strangers in the night.
1. Snowy Skies and Sinatra Songs

**A/N: So this is an idea I sort of had in my head for a while, and after the whole plagiarism bit with my other story, I figured it would be best to start something new creatively.**

 **Plot: It has one, as opposed to my first work that's essentially just dramatic tension.**

 **Also, I will note that they are all grown up in this fic, and the time is in January of 2033. That year will become super important to this story, and if any of you can figure it out, I applaud you.**

 **Enjoy.**

Chapter 1: Snowy Skies and Sinatra Songs

" _And now to Dawn Miller for the weather." "Well Sharon, we've got a real doozy of a storm kicking off this El Niño season. Well over 5 feet in the areas exiting Colorado for the next couple of days, and even more on the back roads. The traveling will certainly be rough out there. However, we do completely recommend that if you are on the road now, take shelter. You will be left stranded, so make sure that your phone is fully charged, you have some form of food and water in your car, and a blanket to keep warm if you get caught in the storm. Up next, Ben Stevens for your sports update."_

Marco cut off the radio as he traversed down the already icing roads. _Great,_ he thought. _You just_ had _to talk yourself out of getting chains for your tires, didn't you? This is going to be one hell of a drive._

He continued down the road as the sun started to go down. He looked at the clock. 6:17. The sun was already going down, but because he was out in the middle of nowhere on a backroad, there was no nearby lodging. _I guess I'll just have to pray these headlights are good enough to last me another few hours._

An hour or so later, Marco felt himself getting sleepy, considering all he had done over the past couple of days, so he decided to turn the radio back on to see if anything was on that would keep him up. The first channel was nothing but static. Second one, static. Third one, fourth one, and the last FM channel in reach was… functioning! But it was classical music. _"From swing to serenade, 96.9 has got you covered for all of your classical desires. Now for one of my personal favorites, 'I Get a Kick out of You' by ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra."_ Marco thought to himself, _Great. This is just what I need to keep me awake. I guess it's better than nothing._

' _My story is much too sad to be told,'_ the song started off. "You said it, Franky," Marco said to no one in particular.

' _But practically everything leaves me totally cold.' I wonder if he's talking about substance abuse or actual cold? Either way, it applies to a certain degree._

' _The exception I know is the case / When I'm out on a quiet spree,'_ the song continued. Suddenly, Marco thought he saw a small flash of light from up in the distance, something headlights couldn't produce. It looked like a combination of, blue and pink? _Maybe I do need to pull over and rest. Eyes are playing tricks on me._

' _Fighting vainly the old ennui_ _,_ _'_ the song once again seeming to match up perfectly with the surrounding environment. "Does driving down a stupid road on a stupid night in a stupid storm in a stupid car from a stupid getaway count?"

' _And I suddenly turn and see your fabulous face.'_ Suddenly, he saw a figure start walk across the road in front of the car about 100 feet ahead. Marco slammed on brakes as fast as he could to try and avoid colliding with the figure ahead, eventually sliding off to the side of the road just 10 feet away from what had caused such a scare. He narrowly avoided a crash, but the figure collapsed in the ever-rising pile of snow all the same. _What the hell is that, a deer? 'No, you idiot, deer don't have blond hair, as far as you know.' Shut up, I know that- wait, blond hair?_

As soon as he realized that the mysterious figure might have been human, he quickly got out of the car and ran over to it, collapsed on the ground, car still on and everything. _Yep, definitely human, definitely breathing, and definitely cold._ He turned the person over to face him upright.

And as if on cue, he heard emitting from the car, _'Yet I get a kick out of you.'_

 _Earlier…_

Star was feeling very nervous, after the way she had been called into the chamber. "Mom, what are you doing?"

Her dad started, "Sweetie-"

"River, let me handle this."

"My apologies, Moon."

Her mother continued."Honey, as you know, we've been waiting on you for a long time. However, it cannot continue to be like this. You are simply too old to continue to go unwed. An heir to the kingdom must be born soon, or the people will be very angry."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Mom, you have to give me some time to figure things out. You know how arranged marriages work out."

"Yes, but darling, I'm afraid we have no choice. It has been long enough. We have waited for you to court someone for ages, letting you try and find your own love. But dear-"

"MOM, JUST GIVE ME SOME TIME! I'm still trying to find the right guy. So few of them out there… I can't believe it sometimes how hard it is to find someone."

"Sweetie, we tried. We truly did."

Star was furious, but ready to cede for her kingdom's sake. "Fine, but at least tell me who I'm marrying."

Moon and River exchanged worried glances, shifted around some, and finally said, "…Tom."

"WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! HE'S A TERRIBLE PERSON! THERE'S A REASON WE BROKE UP, AND IT'S BECAUSE HE'S LITERALLY THE DEVIL! HE MANIPULATED ME, AND I WON'T HAVE HIM BACK IN MY LIFE. THAT'S FINAL."

"Dear, we knew you would try and do something like this." River pulled a syringe out of his breast pocket with a glowing green ooze on it.

Star nervously said, "Dad, what are you doing with that?", even if she had a pretty good idea of what.

"I'm so sorry sweetie, but this is for your own good. Your own people's good."

Star was then held in place by the two guards in the room. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" The needle started to go in, bringing about a feeling of nauseousness when she managed to wriggle free.

"Star, get back here! STAR!"

Star ran as fast as she could to her room. She didn't know where she was going, but it was going to be as far out of their reach as she could get it. _'An exoplanet in the Andromeda system,'_ she thought to herself. _'They can give me protection.'_ She had just grabbed her dimensional scissors when she started to get really drowsy. _'Oh, shit, that wasn't a love serum, it was a sleep serum! Shit, shit, shit…'_ She could barely hold herself up when she cut a hole through the fabric of space itself, no longer able to control where she cut. _'This isn't Andromeda…'_ she thought to herself with her ever deteriorating state. All of a sudden, she heard the sound of boots running to her room. _'Guess this will have to do… wherever_ this _is.'_ She made her way through the portal, in a daze, closing it behind her, leaving behind any trace of herself on her home world.

She stumbled through what felt like a snowy forest, the urge to rest getting stronger every second. She started to feel flat, paved ground. _'Civilization! Great, now I just have to find wherever the natives on this planet live.'_ Star had gotten to the point where she couldn't continue, so she started to close her eyes, still standing up and walking forward. The last thing she remembered was an approaching bright light, and then darkness.

 _Now…_

Marco was scrambling to find something from his car to wrap her in and warm her up. _'Jesus Christ, what is a girl like this doing all the way out here? And also, why is she dressed up like 18th century royalty? Sort of reminds me of that queen from the French Revolution, Marie-Antoinette, except for the whole revolution and wouldn't-conceive-a-child bit.'_ **[A/N: ;) ]**

For Marco, there was no getting around the fact that she was indeed very beautiful. He couldn't help but start to imagine. _Blond hair that gave off a certain glow like the sun, captivating blue eyes that could pierce the very soul of any man who dared to look into them, fair skin that made her look just that much more youthful and vibrant, and two heart-shaped birthmarks that were so out there, yet so right, as if she would somehow be incomplete without them. Am I attracted to this girl? Well, you'd be a fool not to, but yeah. Wait a sec, focus Marco! This girl is clearly freezing cold, and is unconscious._ He then looked down at himself.

Marco's most prized possession, his red hoodie. He never left anywhere without wearing it. _Would I give up my jacket for this girl? You don't ever give this someone else. Why would you give up your most prized possession to a complete stranger? Damn it Marco, you can't do this. This could be a matter of life and death for this girl. Hypothermia and frostbite are very real problems, and if you don't do something, she could die._ He took off his beloved red hoodie and put it on the strange girl, leaving him in nothing but his gray undershirt.

' _Sooooo… what do I do now? Guys, a little help?'_

" _You can't just leave her here, she'll freeze, and she'll be very confused."_

" _But she's a stranger! There's a reason you shut out your family and friends, because they hurt you. No reason to even talk to her, especially since she's not conscious. She was out here by herself in the forest, so she can't be that helpless. Plus, if any police find you, they might think it's a date-rape sort of thing going on here."_

' _You can't be serious right now, can you?'_

" _Hey, this is your imagination. Your conscience. We're just here to give your own rational thought two figureheads. Adios amigo."_

' _You guys never help me out anyway.'_ Marco picked her off the ground bridal style and put her into his car. _Boy, this is going to take some explaining when she comes to._

A few minutes later, Star was beginning to stir. She sat up slowly, eyes still shut, completely unaware of herself or her surroundings. She yawned. "Man, where the hell am I?" She opened her eyes to see her sitting next to a strange, yet handsome man. His attention was clearly somewhere else, but he immediately focused in on her once he realized that she was up.

"Oh God, you're awake. Finally!"

Star was a bit puzzled. "Umm, I have a few questions. First, why do you say 'finally?' Second, where am I? Third, _who are you?_ "

Marco was prepared to answer all of these. "Ok, let's see, you stumbled out onto the street where I almost hit you-"

"YOU ALMOST HIT ME? Wait, why would you punch me in the first place?"

This posed way many more questions for Marco than answers. "Wait, you think I meant- oh. You're not from around here, are you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"I mean, sort of, but I have no idea where you would come from that still dresses like that. Anyway, to answer your other questions, I said finally because you've been unconscious for a few hours, as far as where you are, you're in Colorado right now, and my name is Marco Diaz."

"Nice to meet you, Marco, but what's a Colorado?"

"O-k, then, you either have some form of amnesia, or you _really_ aren't from around here."

"Yeah, I'll tell you about that later, because in my current state, you really shouldn't believe a word I say, but again, why would you hit me?"

Marco, once again taken by surprise by her clear lack of knowledge of the world around her, struggled to answer. "O-of course, I would never _hit_ you, not intentionally at least, but I was talking about hitting you with my car. You kind of wandered out onto the road, so you should have really been more careful."

This girl, who's name he had yet to learn, sat staring at him with a blank face. "You know, a car? The very thing you're sitting in right now?"

This brought Star on full alert, as she realized she had taken no account her surroundings, being completely distracted by this mystery man, 'Marco.' She was in some sort of a room, like a carriage, but with weird seats and a wheel attached to the wall, with some other gauges of some sort. It was really cold, as her hands involuntarily shaking clearly told, but for some reason, even with only the paper-thin dress, she wasn't cold on her body. _Weird, these dresses don't protect from the cold really well…_ and then she realized what was on top of it. A thick red garment, that looked quite strange, but felt quite, nice. It was really soft, and it had a pleasant smell to it as well, like she could wrap it around a pillow and fall asleep on it.

"Yeah… still not really getting you there."

Marco was stunned at how she had no idea what a car was, yet still look like she was from the developed world, minus the attire. She was very well groomed and taken care of, she smelled like lavender and roses, and her mannerisms were quite well. Granted, he didn't know what kind of mannerisms one should have when stuck out in a blizzard, but it still looked like she was very proper. Which would make sense, considering the overly formal dress that he couldn't help but stare at. But he decided to talk about it later, when they weren't on the road.

 _Wait a second, what am I supposed to do with her now? I can't just tell her to take a hike, the storm's just starting to pick up, and we still haven't gotten a move on!_ He said, "You know what, it doesn't matter. What matters now is how we get out of this situation right here. The situation being that we are in the middle of a blizzard, of course."

Star took note of the extreme cold, and then started to worry about her new companion. He was wearing a very thin shirt with pants that didn't look like they could protect him from the elements. "Marco, are you cold? Do you want to keep this weird _thing_ I woke up wearing? It's really nice, and you look super cold right now."

"No thanks, I'm good…um…uh… wait a second. You never told me your name."

She felt a little embarrassed that she had been using his name since she woke up, yet here he was, apparently taking care of her in the blistering cold, without even giving him a name.

"It's Star. Star Butterfly."

 _Star. Of course! It fit her so well. She shone like only the brightest stars in the sky. This had to have been a dream. It all seemed so real… but he was opening up to someone. He didn't do that. Ever. Not since graduation anyway. But here he was. And he was opening up to a beautiful girl, no less. If it weren't for the long hair and higher pitched voice, she almost reminded me of… NO. PUSH HER OUT OF YOUR HEAD. SHE. IS. GONE. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT._

"Star. What a beautiful name." Marco covered his mouth the instant he said it, both him and Star blushing.

"Thank you, Marco. And you're sure you don't want the weird thing I'm wearing? I mean, I'm not complaining, it's super soft, and it smells really nice, but-"

"Don't worry about it. You need it more than I do. I'm just surprised neither of us has hypothermia yet." Marco looked at the clock inside the car. 9:20.

"Star, it's really getting late, and there's no way we're going to be able to drive in this sort of weather." She again stared at Marco with a blank expression. "This thing we're in can go places pretty fast on the road, but not with it snowing." Star was clearly still confused, but satisfied enough with the answer.

"Ok, what I'm trying to say is, even though I just met you…" Marco still couldn't believe he was doing this for a total stranger. "… I can't let you stay out here by yourself. You can sleep in here with me tonight. Don't worry, I will leave you the backseats so that you can fully lie down. I'll sleep in the upright seats." She didn't budge.

"Marco, if it's all right with you, I'd rather sleep up here with you. You've been so kind to me, despite not knowing me at all, and you kept me warm out here in the snow. Plus, I don't like being alone." Marco was about to protest, and Star saw that he was uncomfortable, so she did what only felt natural to her: She grabbed Marco's hand.

A million memories flooded back at once. High school. College. His parents. His friends. Jackie. All the things he tried for an entire decade to forget. But somehow, Star made everything better for him. All the pain. All of the heartache. Melting at the very touch of their hands. Yet Marco truly believed that Star felt nothing of it.

All of the things she loved and hated about Tom. About being royalty. About having a duty to an entire kingdom. About her parents. About the very concept of love. Somehow it all manifested in this total stranger's hand. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't bring herself to break the connection. She was waiting for Marco to break it off. But he never did.

Nearly 10 minutes passed when they both let go at the same time, wildly blushing, looking away from each other, embarrassed about the moment they had just shared, but each secretly knowing that they had helped one another out in ways they couldn't quite comprehend. "Well… I guess we should be getting rested now, Star. We've got a long morning ahead of us if we want to find real shelter from this storm, and knowing Colorado storms, this could go on for weeks. We would be best to take whatever we can carry, nothing more, and abandon it. But for now, we rest."

Marco started to close his eyes, when he thought of something. "Hey Star, would you like to listen to some music?"

Star nodded her head. "Sure thing Marco."

Marco twisted the dial of the radio, and when he found the station he was listening to earlier, just introducing the next song. _"Well folks, you do know how much we love our Sinatra, so here's the Chairman of the Board, singing his hit song, Strangers in The Night, right here on 96.9."_

As the two newly acquainted souls reclined their seats as far downward as they could go, even as their eyes were closed, they were both intently listening to Sinatra's lyrical genius, that was all too fitting for the situation. Marco smiled and thought of the times in the past where he _was_ happy, and for Star, given this was her first experience with Earth music, couldn't help but smile at his words.

 _Strangers in the night, exchanging glances_

 _Wond'ring in the night, what were the chances_

 _We'd be sharing love, before the night was through_

 _Something in your eyes was so inviting_

 _Something in you smile was so exciting_

 _Something in my heart, told me I must have you_

 _Strangers in the night_

 _Two lonely people, we were strangers in the night_

 _Up to the moment when we said our first hello, little did we know_

 _Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away_

 _and_ _,_

 _Ever since that night, we've been together_

 _Lovers at first sight, in love forever_

 _It turned out so right, for strangers in the night._

 **A/N: Read and review for my first story-driven story, rather than fueled by dramatic tension. But for those of you that actually like that, it should be updated soon. Cheers, and until next time!**


	2. The Runaways

**Note before the Note: This is something I'm doing as a message that isn't pre-written, rather done just before I upload, so as not to wedge any new information awkwardly in the A/N.**

 **I know I've been gone a while. It's been spring break, and as much as that sounds like it should give me more of a time to write, it really hasn't. I planned out way too much time with family, and I haven't been able to really continue writing well. Plus, it seems like every time I sat down, I could only type a hundred words or so before I just gave in to writer's block. A really poor excuse (the writer's block anyway, but we all get it, so hopefully you guys understand) I know, but I'm back now. Enjoy my unnecessarily long A/N guys.**

 **A/N: Some quick review acknowledgements to get started, a message, and then the story.**

 **SonicELITE: Two words: THANK YOU! It's nice to see any kind of support on this story.**

 **Terracea: I plan on continuing this story right about… now. Haha, it's a joke. No one normally laughs anyway. But you are seriously of my favorite authors to read on this site, so to hear that is awesome. Hope you like this second chapter.**

 **Anonymims: I can't wait to see if you guessed right. The reveal of such a purpose will be in the last (couple of) chapter(s). Glad you like all of the techniques I'm using for suspense in this story. Trust me, there will be more of it. And as for those mistakes, I'm trying to read over my work more thoroughly in the future, so I can catch things like time slip ups, missing words, etc. I was just hoping that when I posted it that people wouldn't notice it. Lol.**

 **Ok, message time. So I'm not really feeling Shades of Truth right now, so if this goes out before the next chapter and this message isn't deleted, then it will come soon, I just am seriously lacking inspiration for this inspiration-less story of mine. So give it some time.**

 **Disclaimer: Forgot it last time, but Marco and Star aren't mine. Look at Daron Nefcy and Disney. I'm jealous. My intellectual property isn't near as valuable yet it gets stolen more than theirs. (No hard feelings Logansey5, just giving you a bit of a hard time. Glad to see you putting out content in some form.)**

 **Hope you enjoy Chapter 2.**

Chapter 2: The Runaways

Marco awoke to the smell of lavender. He rolled over on his other side, suddenly remembering the night before, realizing it wasn't one of the sick dreams that he used to have. He shuddered at the thought of having one of them again. He didn't have a watch, so he looked over at the clock on the dashboard to check the time. It read 10:09 AM. _That's weird,_ Marco thought to himself. _It looks dark outside. That clock has to be wrong. Must be the storm messing with it or something._

Star then yawned and stretched her hands, signaling that she was awake. "Good morning Marco. How'd you sleep?" Marco sighed. He could listen to that voice all day. He said in a somewhat airy and tired voice, "I slept well, you?"

"I slept ok. It would have been better if my mind weren't so... distracted right now." This worried Marco more than it probably should have. "What's distracting you so much that you had trouble sleeping? I'll butt out if you want me to-"

Star interrupted him. "Can we talk about this later? I'm so sorry, I feel like I'm coming off as rude right now. I'm not blowing you off, but we are sort of trapped in this metal box of yours right now. And I really need to pee." Marco realized his own natural urge to use the restroom, and then promptly tried to exit the car to do his business. The door would't budge. _Huh, that's weird. It shouldn't be doing this…_ It all of a sudden hit Marco. _Wait, could the storm really have been that bad?_ He turned on the radio to attempt to confirm his suspicions. Once again, trusty ol' 96.9 was there for him.

" _All right, my chilled out audience, I hope you enjoyed_ Adagio for Strings, Op. 11a, _played by the wonderful London Philharmonic Orchestra. We're going to take a quick break to tune into KKTV for some weather and news updates."_ The generic 'breaking news' music played in the background, while introducing some of the main newscasters. _"The day is January 20, 2033, and this is your news update. First, the weather, with, as always, KKTV's own Dawn Miller." "Well for those of you that aren't looking outside, the snowstorm blowing in from the west coast far exceeded anyone's expectations, dropping in a whopping 6 FEET of snow in most of Colorado, with the bases of the mountainous regions getting the worst of it, up to 7 feet in some areas. It's expected to melt away by the beginning of next week, but if you're trapped out there in the storm, listening in to our stations, our prayers go out to all of you to find shelter. Sharon?" "Thank you Dawn. Up next, your world news update, and soon, coverage of Tulsi Gabbard's inauguration on this January 20, 2033."_ Marco's suspicions confirmed, he cut off the radio, pulled on the handle of the driver's side door and pushed as hard as he could.

"Umm… Marco, what are you doing?"

"Well Star, I'm trying to get us out of here, since we want to keep moving and try to find real shelter."

"But it's probably warmer in here than out there, can't we just wait it out until the snow melts?"

"I wish we could, but we have no food, no clean water, that is unless you count the snow outside, and we both really need to relieve ourselves. If you wanted to get really technical, we can survive off of our body's own stored nutrition, but that doesn't solve the problem of water… or... privacy." Marco shuddered to think of seeing a woman he just met like that. To him, it just wasn't right.

Star pondered, "Well, is there anything I can do to help?"

Marco responded, "For starters, you could help me push this door open. Or, if you don't really feel like doing that, you could start gathering up whatever's left in this car that we can take with us on our search for shelter."

Star looked around for a few seconds, and then said, "If you're referring to anything edible, anything to warm us up, or really anything period, we're in pretty much the exact opposite place to be in this situation. This 'car' is pretty much bare of anything remotely useful, let alone marking of individuality. The closest thing I can see to anything that can be used period is that pad of paper and your pen there in the cupholder. I wonder what's on it…"

Marco immediately snatched the pad of paper from the cupholder as she was reaching to grab it. "Don't read this, please. I don't feel comfortable with that."

"Why not?"

"Well…I…Uh…" Seeing as Marco couldn't come up with either the will or the reason to say no, he simply handed the notepad to Star, defeated by his own lack of logic in everything he did. As he continued to push on the door, he made slight headway, as cold air started to seep into the car. _God, if she didn't need that hoodie so badly… whatever. It doesn't matter anyway. It's not like you're susceptible to get hypothermia, pneumonia, or bother stuff with you like this. Oh wait._

Star flipped through the pages of his pad of paper. _'Things to do on getaway', 'Things to avoid', Reasons to not look back', what is this guy doing?_ Worried for her newfound friend, she inquired, "Why are you getting away?"

His attitude went from annoyed with the weather to furious with the world quickly. With cold eyes, he stared back at her, saying practically through his teeth, "I don't want to talk about it. But in short, I'm getting away from all the things that were quite literally driving me to insanity. The term gets thrown around a lot, insanity that is, but I was feeling as though my own functioning was shutting down because of all that I went through, and what I dragged other people in my life through. It was a metaphorical and literal hell on Earth. I don't like bringing it up, but given you're the first truly human interaction I've had in months that wasn't with a bartender, I haven't really gotten the chance to bring it up anyways. And with 90% of my savings and salary going into paying off this car, just so I can get away from the world on my own, I don't exactly have money for a shrink."

Star was stunned that someone could possibly go through something that traumatizing and not want to talk about it. Nevertheless, she was more stunned to realize that maybe she was not all alone. She pushed the conversation aside for the time being, put the notepad back into the cupholder, and sat quietly, thinking about how she got into the situation she was in now.

For the next few minutes, he grunted as he propped his feet on the side of the middle console of his Tesla Model 3, pushing with all of his force, slowly moving the door, pushing hundreds of pounds of snow out of it's path. With one last effort, he managed to prop the door open a few feet, letting daylight and much more cold air seep into the cabin of the car. "Finally! Some daylight." He squeezed his way through the opening at the top, onto the top of the car, Star following suit. They both ran off into opposite directions to relieve themselves, and after about a minute, they regrouped at the only disturbed part of the otherwise complete blanket of snow as far as the eye could see.

"So," said Star as she brushed off her dress and newfound favorite article of clothing. "What do we do now?

Marco paused. "Umm… I'm not actually sure. Everything seems to be covered up here on the road, even the tall road signs, so I guess we just follow where we were going and hope we find some sort of a private motel or lodging, or an old cabin in the woods. I guess we just keep moving forward because there wasn't anything behind where I was coming from."

"That makes sense, I think."

As the two trudged along in the snow, at a snail's pace due to their lack of snowshoes, there was an atmosphere of unspoken tension. They were both thinking about the other, where they came from, and how they ended up together. Star thought to herself, _Surely this has to be a coincidence. I run away from my parents and somehow just happen to stumble upon the type of guy that I was looking for for ages. Smart, handsome, resourceful, the works. But not only that, he gave up things he never should have for my own safety. If this is a coincidence that I opened the portal at the exact place and time to meet such a soul… No. Something this huge cannot just be some cosmic coincidence. Something brought us together. I can feel it. But he just seems so closed off from everyone else._

Marco was having an internal crisis. _You can't be seriously thinking about this girl right now, are you Marco? 'Well, why wouldn't you? She's pretty, and I sure don't see a ring on that finger…' Could you shut up, Unhelpful Marco? Good Conscience Marco, got anything for me? 'Ok, fine. Look, I wouldn't pounce on this girl unless she wants it.' THANK YOU! That's only what I've been trying to tell the other guy the entire time. 'Hey, slow down. I wasn't done rationalizing your own thought yet. Don't pounce on her yet, but this still brings up the issue of you not opening up to anyone else. You seem really comfortable around this total stranger. Don't you think it's about time you go back home, confront your irrational fear of your old friends and family?' Aaaaaand you lost me. Whatever, I guess I do have to talk to this girl._ Marco cleared his throat, and then said, "So Star. Where are you from exactly?"

Star turned her head, realizing that he had spoken through all of her daydreaming. "Huh? Oh, right, where I'm from. I'm not from around _here_ , so-"

"Look, I can tell that much. But that doesn't explain how you're dressed and why you were all alone, stumbling through the middle of the woods like that."

"If I told you where I was from, you wouldn't believe me."

"I shouldn't believe a word you say anyway, but I've heard my fair share of bullshit, so I can tell when someone's lying, just not so much when it comes time to admit it to myself. So try me."

"It's not a place you would probably have heard of. I'm from Mewni."

"That sounds as made up as my mother's… never mind."

"Probably because it's not on this planet."

"Ok, you're bullshitting me. Another planet? You must have really bad amnesia, or worse, dementia."

"No, I'm serious! Watch this." Marco watched as the strange girl pulled out a pair of scissors shaped like a heart with a jewel encrusted on the handle. She started making cuts through the air, and after hearing a tearing sound, as if someone was ripping up a sheet of paper, a blue and pink swirling circle appeared in the air.

"Whoa, what the hell is that?"

"That is a dimensional portal. Mewni isn't from your dimension, whatever your dimension is."

"Pretty sure our dimension would be Earth."

"Right. So it's from a faraway planet from whatever this one is, and I came here through a portal like this."

Star closed the portal just as fast as she had opened it. Marco said, "That is so cool! But also, entirely possible that it's all an illusion induced by the rapidly lowering body temperature of mine."

"I promise you. No tricks." They kept trekking onward, both desperately hoping for a place to stay making itself known soon.

Marco was still very confused and amazed that something like that truly existed, but he didn't have time to try and grasp the new concepts of Earth's place in the universe. Whatever that may have meant for the future of humanity, he pushed those implications aside. _Anything is a welcome distraction from your transformation into a human popsicle._ "That really is awesome and all, but it still doesn't explain why you would come here of all places."

Star hesitated, but seeing the look in Marco's eyes, one of compassion that was clearly foreign to him, she began telling the story of how she got to here as they were walking. "Ok, it all starts with… wait a second. Do you promise to trust me and that I'm being honest?"

"I mean, it's not like it really matters anyway, but I think this will be good for both of us. And you don't know me, so you don't really have a reason to lie to me about anything, much unlike other people I used to know."

"Marco, you keep referencing that and then staring off into space, so you're going to have to tell me _all_ about that story after I'm done. So you better prepare yourself. Anyway, it all starts at my birth. From the day I was brought into my world, I was destined to rule. My father and mother are king and queen of Mewni. They are my kingdom's monarchical rulers, and so were my grandparents, and so on and so on as far back as anyone can remember. The Butterfly family has ruled over my kingdom throughout almost all of its existence. Because of this, that meant that I would one day inherit the kingdom for myself."

As she got through her early childhood and onto the teenage years, it started to get painful. The more Marco listened, the more it made him realize that he wasn't all alone. "Tom manipulated me, he tried to hurt me, and he was a terrible person." That alone made Marco want to beat the life out of this prick. "And now my mother insists that I get married to him. Because she's afraid for the safety of her kingdom that is soon to become mine. Does she not trust my own judgement, or is there other motivation at play here? She knows that I hate him."

"I can't blame you one bit for hating him. What he did to you was awful. Unforgivable. I don't know much about oligarchy, but I do know real life. Marriages built on shifting sand aren't good for you or anyone around you, and when an entire populous depends on the strength of your marriage, this is the last thing your mother should be doing. You aren't doing this for selfish reasons at all. You want a strong kingdom, same as your mother. It's just that she doesn't trust that your intentions are for the kingdom. She truly believes that you trying to find 'the perfect suitor' is just for yourself. It's not. And anyone that thinks different is either extremely dull or lying to themselves. You're a strong person, with the heart of a lion, and the judgement of someone who was born to lead. I could only dream of that."

Star sighed. "My mom's never seen me like that, and I don't think she ever will. Ever since I was a teenager, I wasn't like any of the other princesses, and she didn't love me for who I was. I don't think anyone ever has." She stopped walking and started sobbing, her tears becoming one with the snow below them. Through the outpouring of emotion, she said, "Everything I've done in my life has either been through my mother's calculation, my kingdom's will, or Tom's malevolence. I just don't know if I can really do what's right in the end." Marco couldn't bear to see her like this, but at the same time, was afraid. _If you do this, there's no going back. All of the wounds you managed to patch up. Reopened, infected, and salt poured all over them. Are you sure about this?_ He did the only thing that really felt right, no matter how much he kept telling himself it was wrong. He took her into his arms. "There there, Star. Everything's gonna be all right. I promise." _The last time you made a promise to a girl, you ruined everything. You really gonna take that chance again?_ To Marco, it felt so weird to be holding a woman in his arms once again. Yet… he didn't pull away. Even if it hurt him to think about times past because of the choices he made, and the actions of those he thought he knew and loved.

Star felt like she truly found someone who could understand her at an emotional level, someone who could feel what she felt and not ever try and hurt her. She felt more at home with him stuck in the first wave of a huge storm than she ever felt in Mewni. It felt right. "Thank you Marco."

They continued hugging even after Star had clearly let out all of her pent-up emotion. When they realized this fact, they quickly pulled away, Marco's face turning a bright red, and Star's heart marks giving off a slight glow. When they turned and faced each other, Marco was searching for anything, anything at all to say. He managed to at least change the subject. "Well, I guess we should head onwards to… wherever we can find shelter."

Star, now snapped out of her daze, said, "No no no, you never told me your story."

"Wait, what?"

"Well, I just poured my heart out to you, don't I deserve a little of the same?"

"I mean, I guess so, but…"

"It's a fair trade, is it not?"

"Yeah, it's just…"

"It's just what?"

Marco was caught off-guard by her now invasive tone. He went on the defensive. "It's just that I don't like to bring it up. It's not something I like to think about, and purposely thinking about it just makes me tear up. And considering the state you were just in, I think you need someone looking a little stronger than _that_ going forward."

"Marco, you were just here for me when I broke down. If you feel the same way, I'm here. I know it's a little ridiculous, telling our life stories when we just met last night, but I think we can both agree that this has been good for both of us, has it not?"

Marco thought about the past day, and how this chance encounter with someone not even from Earth changed his perspective. _There are others out there just like me. With stories to be shared of their hardships, memories that will never escape their minds, and a longing for someone willing to take and share that pain. Is Star someone that can truly understand me and take that burden? Guys?_

' _You know, instead of bringing us back as totally unnecessary figureheads, you could just listen to yourself, much unlike what you're doing now; pretending to be taking advice from someone else when it's just the part of you that you wouldn't listen to without us..'_

" _You know I don't trust myself, right?"_

' _Oh, believe me. We know. That's sort of why we exist. Two figures other than yourself that you can trust to give you advice. The only reason you trust us is because you ignore the fact that we are every bit a part of you.'_

" _Ok, quit yapping and tell me what I'm supposed to do."_

' _First of all, relax a little. This girl just gave you her life story, so you can then stand to reason that she trusts you. So why not return that trust?'_

" _Alright, Mr. Unhelpful Reality Check Conscience, your time is up. What do you have, Mr. Flowery Truths That I Listen To More Easily Conscience?"_

' _Ok, so I'm not saying that_ you're _ready for it, but the rest of the world is. She cares about you, can you not see that? Even though she just met you, she has clung to you, and you've been oblivious to that fact. That, along with you harboring your past from everyone you've met since running away from you loved ones other than bartenders, makes me think, and should make you think, especially since we're the same thing, that it's about damn time you share this. And who better than her?'_

" _How do you mean?"_

' _First of all, total stranger. If and when she leaves, it won't hurt you for one random person to know about it. This can only help you. And considering her... physique, and considering your antisocial tendencies, I would argue that she is the perfect candidate to unload your past onto.'_

" _Ok, I'm going to ignore that first reason, or now. You really think I'm ready?"_

' _Hate to break it to you, but you have been ready. It's just that it took your mind fabricating us two to get you to admit that to yourself.'_ And with that, the two parts of Marco's conscience disappeared.

Marco sighed. "Those guys always nail it on the head."

Star inquired, "What guys?"

"Oh, I said that out loud? Whatever, it doesn't matter. So are you absolutely sure you want to hear this?"

"More sure than anything I've ever wanted. This is your story. And this might finally make me feel like there's someone else in the universe who went through what I did."

"So I guess there's no more stalling, huh?"

"Nope. But we should probably continue walking, because I'm not about to be trapped out here with no shelter to simply freeze to death. And you look even worse than me, so movement could only help you."

"Ok. Here goes. The story of how I got to the point in my life that I felt the need to run away from every ounce of my past, bury it all as far back in my mind as possible, and how it brought me to be here with you. It all started when I was a freshman at my school, Echo Creek High."

 **A/N: Yeah, yeah, hate me all you want, but his backstory needs a chapter of its own. Maybe two, who knows. It's gonna be really big and time consuming to really build that universe all over again to the point where it drives what he does. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.**

 **Also, as a little aside, during the beginning when Star was talking about staying in the car, I debated wether to have Marco keep the radio on, and then have something like 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' playing, but I thought that would be a tad overkill. Just thought that you guys might be interested in some of the things that go through my head while writing. If you don't,well, you can just pretend like you never read this part.**

 **Until next time!**


	3. Loners, Lovers, and Low Points

**Please don't skip over the author's note. It's only like 2-3 minutes tops.**

 **A/N: First things first, addressing the reviews. Then a personal message, then the story. Lots of liberties taken, just as a warning.**

 **To all reviewers and readers in general: Sorry for the wait.**

 **Anonymims: I'm glad you enjoy this, because I heavily enjoy writing this. I hope you like this chapter just as much, if not more.**

 **Otto: Glad you're falling in love with this universe, and I hope I kept it up.**

 **Guest: Since you want more, here's more.**

 **Terracea: Thanks, I bring the heaviness, I guess. Serious answer, he doubts his judgement because of mistakes he made in the past. Which will be covered over two(ish) chapters, I think. Also, they are representative of others and their influences with Marco's face. Enjoy.**

 **Guest Sorta: I can and I did, sorry 'bout that. This is gonna be one hell of a long flashback, two chapters probably (subject to change) because Marco's backstory is the one that really matters here, and it makes the ending chapters that much more special. Wait, did I say too much? I can't tell. Oh well.**

 **So I guess I kind of have to say this. I've been becoming increasingly unimpressed with my work. I always have a copy of what I write, but I'm never satisfied, and I end up scrapping it. Then something gets in the way, and then I look back on what I had taken lots of time on and say, 'Well that could be a lot better.' So the way I see this going is that I'm going to be sort of a lurking writer, but don't worry, I will try and post as much content as I possibly can feel proud of.**

 **When I first started this account, I didn't expect anyone to really give a shit, I just wanted to have fun. Then a few people did (like 5 who cared to review on the first chapter of Shades of Truth), and then I started to take myself super seriously. The fact that I only got two responses to the chapter I put the most time and effort into hasn't exactly made me want to write more, and to anyone that gives a single shit, I'm sorry. I'm just a bit petty like that. Feedback is honestly the best fuel for my work, and I honestly don't know how some of the people on this corner of the site do it, getting one or sometimes no reviews on the 13th chapter of something they've been working on since December 2015, or something. I couldn't do that. So yeah. I'm that type of person. But if you genuinely enjoy my work, make sure to let me know you did, maybe even specific parts you liked or possibly didn't enjoy as much. Hell, I'm even open to flamers. It's all in the name of self-improvement, but if I'm in an echo chamber with myself, it's a bit sad. Phew. Got that out of the way. Now, disclaimers.**

 **Disclaimer 1: Language. This gets sorta heavy, so if you don't like lots of swears… idk what to tell you bro. If someone seriously wants a rating change, I'll be happy to oblige.**

 **Disclaimer 2: For anyone thinking that the personalities will be even close to canonical, you've got another thing coming.**

 **Disclaimer 3: Star vs. the Forces of Evil itself isn't mine, nor are these characters. The story is mine however.**

 **Oh boy. This one took a while. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Loners, Lovers and Low Points**

"It was August 31, 2015: my freshman year."

"Ooo, I'm excited."

"At first, I wasn't."

* * *

 **August 31, 2015 - The First Day of High School**

Marco looked up at his blank ceiling from the comfort of his bed, thinking about all the ways he could try and get out of going to school. He was feeling a lot of emotions at the time, regret, mostly, but excitement was not one of them.

He definitely should have been excited. And in another life, maybe he would be. But not in this one.

He loved everything to do with the concept of learning, and was extremely intelligent. He was a straight-A student, gaining top honors from his middle school. **(A/N: Just something to note, I don't know how the schooling systems work in other countries or even other parts of the country, but in America, the Southeast in particular, there are 12 grades from 1 to 12, with kindergarten right before then. Kindergarten and 1-4 or 5 is elementary, 5 or 6-8 is middle, and 9-12 is high school.)** But school made it mean nothing to him. He got no good feeling out of it, no sense of reward, nor a sense of accomplishment. It was a waste of his intelligence. So grades, while never having to struggle to get good ones, were nothing to care about going even into a much more challenging setting.

"Marco, honey, breakfast is ready!"

He groaned. "I'll be right there mom, just let me get dressed." He slipped his favorite red hoodie over his gray undershirt, put on his black skinny jeans and olive-colored Vans, and walked downstairs to the smell of bacon and pancakes."

"Good morning Marco! Ready for your first day of school?"

"Honestly mom, not really. I'm walking into this without anyone by my side. Now granted, I mostly brought this upon myself, but it doesn't change the fact that it's going to suck."

Angie was now confused. "Wait, what do you mean? You've got your two best friends, Alfonzo and Ferguson!"

"Mom, did I ever tell you about what happened back in 7th grade?"

 ** _Flashback..._** ("Wait, a flashback within a flashback?" "Heh, yeah Star. I guess that's how it worked out, didn't it?")

Marco was standing in the middle of the hallway, once again watching his best friend making a fool out of himself in front of girls. As he was slapped on the face for the third time this week, Ferguson came grumbling back to his friend. "Ugh, why do the ladies not want a piece of this?" Ferguson remarked with dismay, a young, ambitious 7th grader that was slightly too comfortable in his own skin.

"Ferg, I know you're upset, but we're in 7th grade right now."

"Well, I know that, but that doesn't make me want to stop chasing after girls."

Marco sighed at the apparent lack of self-reflection in his best friend. "Look, what I mean by that is that girls aren't very mature right now. Granted, you aren't exactly the pinnacle of maturity-"

Ferguson interrupted, "Hey!"

"What? It's true. Anyway, they aren't that mature, so you shouldn't bother."

"Well that doesn't stop you from crushing super hard on Jackie Lynn Thomas." Marco instantly started blushing at the mention of her name. "It's not like that, Ferg."

"Uh huh, so what is it like, then?"

Marco paused, thinking hard about his response, eventually deciding on, "You wouldn't understand."

"Oh really? _I_ wouldn't understand? Your best friend in the whole entire world? The one that has your back every single day of your life? I know how you are, how you act, and especially what you feel about Jackie."

"Look, you're into a whole bunch of girls, apparently, but yours aren't like how she is to me. You just chase after the nearest girl that catches your eye, even though you know you're going to get rejected. I happen to have a deep respect for her as well as loving who she is."

Ferguson clasped his hands together, took a deep breath, and said, "Ok, as the scholar I am, I will formally address both individual parts of that statement, not necessarily in order. First off, I can see that you respect the ladies, and that's cool, but how do you _love_ her when you don't know a single thing about her?"

"That is not true!"

"Prove it. What does she like doing?"

"She likes to skate."

"Dude, she skates down the hallways to get to class. That doesn't count, because only a blind man or an idiot wouldn't know that's something she likes to do. Something else."

Marco tried to think of something, but nothing was coming up. Ferguson broke the silence, saying, "Do you at least know her favorite color?" That was the tipping point.

"Ok, Ferg, why don't you tell me a bit about the girls you try and hit on in your spare time? Huh?"

"Look, all I'm saying is that if you barely know a thing about her, so you're in love with the concept of her, not her. And that brings me to the other part of your statement. How do I _know_ that I'm going to get rejected, Mister 'I'm too scared to talk to girls because they might hurt my feelings'?

"Again, that brings _me_ back to maturity level. The girls aren't mature enough to see past all of the stuff on the outside." The instant Marco said it, he wished he could have taken it back.

"Please Marco, inform me of what's on my _outside_ that people would need to look past. Do tell me."

"Look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, not at all, but, I mean, you're not exactly the most attractive-"

"OH, IS THAT WHAT THIS IS? I'M NOT GOOD-LOOKING? ARE YOU SERIOUSLY THAT SHALLOW?"

"Wait, shit, I didn't mean it like that-"

"Well it sure as hell came out like that. You've said a lot of shit over the years, but that one cuts deep man. I try my best with girls because it's better than what you're doing- not trying at all. Just you watch, Marco Ubaldo Diaz, I'm going to start working out, study way harder than I am right now, start really practicing with the ladies, and I'll do it without your lame ass holding me back with shit-talk like that. That I can promise you. And Alfonzo's gonna hear about this, and he'll be just as mad as I am. Good luck going on without any friends."

"Wait, WAIT!" And with that, he ran off.

 ** _End Flashback..._** ("So now we're back to where the story started?" Marco sighed, "Yes Star. We're back to where we began.")

Angie sighed. "Honey, I'm sorry that you pushed them out, but this is high school! Plus, that was nearly two years ago! Surely they have to be over it by now?"

"Clearly not," Marco said with a tone that said, _'I've lost all hope.'_

"Well, you should go into school with a positive outlook. You might just make a friend or two." Angie wanted to cheer him up more, but she simply didn't know how to help her son.

After eating his breakfast, Marco walked outside with his backpack, on his way to school. He had long since stopped riding the bus, for fear of confronting his ex-best friends. As he approached the high school, he could already tell what was in store: a flock of people around who were now the most popular kids in school.

Ferguson had stayed true to his promise. While still retaining his freckles and red hair, most everything else was different. He had a six-pack, a more chiseled face, was 6'2", and while still relatively white, his skin had adopted a slightly darker tone that high school girls of all ages couldn't even resist. I even remember seeing an 11th grader approach him when we were just in 8th grade. Marco was over 100 feet away, hands in his pockets, drowning in his own self-pity. He was a straight-A student just like Marco, and was dating Brittney Wong, the most popular girl in school.

He had a part time job at the mall working as the shirtless doorman of the Abercrombie and Fitch store, with the clothing outlet making record sales in Echo Creek ever since he started, probably all because of his looks and girls dragging their boyfriends to the overpriced store just to see him. And every time Marco passed him in the hallways of their school, more often than not a posse of girls surrounding him, Ferguson gave him a look that could melt steel, one that said, _I told you so._ And it haunted him every day.

Alfonzo had of course stuck around his friend for the ride, and though not as inspired to transform his image, over the past year and a half he had stretched out to 6'1", gotten rid of the glasses, and now wore skin tight t-shirts to show off his new six-pack. It wasn't as much to look at in comparison to Ferguson, but it was enough to get him reputation with the football team and other cliques. Alfonzo and Ferguson had proven what Marco had truly believed not possible: They were better off without him.

Now was his time to forget all of that summer's events, with A&F waiving their no-children under 16 rule for the time being, and Marco simply reading, researching, and sulking. He sat down at a bench close to his first class to just relax, of course, no one paying him any mind. All eyes were on the hottest couple in school.

Almost all of them. One pair was surprisingly fixated on Marco. They belonged to none other than Jackie Lynn Thomas. And her friends had no idea why.

* * *

Leah sighed, looking at where Jackie's attention was. "Ahem. You do know where your eyes are at Jackie, right?"

Jackie was startled at the sound of her friend's voice. "W-What? Did you say something?" She started blushing, and it was plain to see.

Leah responded, "Well duh, I said your name and everything. I may not be as smart as Marco-" she paused when she heard a small sigh emitted from Jackie, "but I think we all know that's how the English language works."

Jackie decided to rebut with just as much sarcasm. "Sorry. Yeah, I know where I happen to be looking, because I happen to have more than 2 synapses connected in my brain."

Hope chimed in, "So I see you haven't quite been blinded and deafened by love just yet." Jackie put her hands up in defense, but it was no use. "Seriously Jackie? Don't even deny it. We know you like him. But we can't figure out for the life of us… well, why." The other girls were also relatively unimpressed. Chantelle, looking to get a word in, said, "Look, we're just curious at this point. That's all."

Meekly, Jackie replied, "I don't really know, I guess I always had a soft spot for geeks. The way they can actually carry on an intelligent conversation, he just seems, so mature, ya know? It just feels like it's right."

Hope said, "Sounds like an adult or a seriously boring person more than anything, if you ask me."

Jackie was shocked. "Boring? Far from it. We don't really talk, but I could have listened to his end-of-the-year speech last year about the Large Hadron Collider all day long. You see? Even from here, his intelligence is rubbing off on me. I need that in high school if I'm going to get a scholarship. Well that and it just seams interesting."

In the eyes of the rest of the girls, she was pretty much irreversibly focused on the wrong things in a guy. No account for looks, style, anything. Just a boring guy who wore the same red hoodie every single day. Not even the slightest interest in Ferguson's turnaround. "We're, uh, glad that you're so interested in the Large Hedron Collapsar-" Jackie interrupted, "You mean the Large _Hadron Collider_? Because a collapsar is a star that collapses under its own gravity to make a white dwarf or black hole, though now that you mention it, accelerating particles and collapsing stars can overlap fields sometimes, so-" "Aaaaand you lost us Jackie. It's cool and all that you're getting into this," Hope said, but reversed, saying, "Wait, no it isn't! Not at all! We'll get back to you once we get our friend back." The girls then started walking off, starting to leave Jackie behind.

Jackie struggled to find words to express her. "Wait, does this actually mean you don't want to be hanging out with me anymore just because I happen to find intelligence necessary, much less attractive?"

The girls stopped walking away, and Hope sighed. "I mean, that's not exactly what we were saying… whatever. Look, we just want our friend back, and if you try and pull Marco Diaz, for reasons we won't dive into, we'll know you're gone for good. It's not even the intelligence that bothers me, it's just that the way you talk about him, bringing up stuff like particle physics, it makes us feel like we're nothing but ditzy, two-dimensional cheerleaders ripped out of a kid's cartoon."

"You know that I don't mean it like that. Listen, I'm going to talk to him during lunch, and if you have a problem with that, then you do, and there's not much I can do to change your mind. But if you still want to be friends, the old me is still in here." Jackie looked around her, seeing the somewhat unconvinced looks of her friends. She sighed. _Ok Jackie, one last shot at keeping these girls. Better make it heartfelt._ "Look, you girls mean the world to me. You're my best friends. I would never want to give you up for some boy. I think that maybe, just maybe, we'll still make this work for you girls so that you still feel like you have your friend. Is that good?"

Leah, Hope, and Chantelle looked at each other, weary looks in their eyes, and just nodded towards Jackie. And with that, the warning bell rang, signaling that class was about to start. The girls all waved goodbye, each of them knowing that everything now rode on Marco.

Jackie walked to the door of her first class, ready to start the new year the same as always. As she was approaching the door, she suddenly lurched forward, feeling the weight of her body fall to the floor just outside the classroom. She landed on her face, but before she could even process what happened, she saw the face of none other than Marco Diaz right beside her on the ground, less than a foot away from each other. Way inside the personal space area.

Almost instantaneously, Marco shot up from the ground, helping Jackie to her feet, all while frantically apologizing. "Oh my God, Jackie, I am just so so sorry, you have no idea, I can't even believe how clumsy I was, looking down at the floor while walking, I'm just-" After she had been helped up from the ground, she put a hand on Marco's shoulder, quieting him almost instantly and causing both of them to blush uncontrollably. In a tone that Marco could only describe as pure bliss, Jackie said, "Marco, it's totally ok. Accidents happen. Besides, I'm not even hurting at all." She pulled back a bit, showing him her arms and legs, devoid of any scrapes or cuts. "See? It's ok."

Marco, for all his perspiration and his lack of preparedness to talk to his lifelong crush, managed to squeak, "Do you want to sit by me?"

"Marco, I would love nothing more." She immediately regretted the choice of words, Marco's face again turning a deep shade of red and Jackie stammering, "I mean, not like, _love_ love, but, I mean, yeah. I'd like that."

And with that, they both walked into class, taking seats at the very front row.

* * *

"I want to verbally test you guys on a few basics, see where you guys are in relation to physics and chemistry, then we'll get started on proper lab procedures and getting each of you adjusted to the workspace with a fun experiment. Ok, can anyone tell me the difference between mass and weight, and when to use either of them?" Marco knew the answer to this one almost instantaneously. It was like kindergarten to him. He was about to raise his hand, seeing as normally no one else did, and most of the students relied on him to give an answer, but out of the corner of his eye, someone had beat him to it. Marco thought to himself, _'Wait, what? Is that…'_

"The difference is quite simple, ma'am. Mass is simply the measure of the amount of matter in any given object, whereas weight is quite dependent upon mass. It is the effect of gravity on mass, as seen with the lower gravitational pull on the moon allowing astronauts to jump extraordinarily far and high while on the lunar surface. Mass should be used in calculating, for example, density of all the materials in a race car. Weight is frequently used in accurately calculating speed, wether it be monitoring the effects on gravity's constant friction and drag against that same race car or the time it would take for a penny to fall from the entire height of the Empire State Building."

The teacher, Mrs. Taylor, was a bit stunned, as was the rest of the class, that it was not Marco's voice heard with that incredibly long-winded explanation. "V-very good, Jackie. That's exactly right. Now we are going to apply some of those principles in our lab today, where we will be…"

Marco paid no attention to anything Mrs. Taylor said after that, knowing fully well that he would be able to do whatever lab assignment she wanted. He scanned the classroom, seeing most students once again focusing on the teacher, but a few girls in the back were face-palming. Leah managed to lock eyes with Marco long enough for her to know everything she needed to know. The girls once again shared a look, and all silently agreeing one thing: Jackie's talk with Marco was going to yield results, and most likely ones that meant jeopardizing their friendship with Jackie.

Marco's eyes fell upon Jackie, who, surprisingly, was looking just as intently at him. When they made eye contact, they immediately started fidgeting, Jackie running her fingers through her hair, Marco tapping frantically on the desk. Mrs. Taylor took note of them no longer paying attention to the introduction to her lab assignment, and decided to make it clear where their focus should be in class. "I'm sorry, Mr. Diaz and Miss Thomas, I didn't know that this room was 'occupied' by you two. Perhaps we should give you two some space?"

Mrs. Taylor felt a bit of pride as the students all started giggling. However, as she looked at her two pupils who were obviously attracted to each other in some way, her behavioral science and psychology minors came back to her. _"That look they were giving one another means one of two things: Love or survival. My bets are on love for Marco, a mix for Jackie. We'll see."_

Jackie was flat out embarrassed as what just happened. _'How did that teacher know? Was I being to obvious? Do all the other kids know about it? WAIT, DOES MARCO KNOW ABOUT IT? I mean, that was just some friendly staring right there, he couldn't have interpreted it as me having a crush on him…'_ She quietly said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Taylor. I got…" as she looked back at Marco, who was still bright red, "distracted."

It felt as if his heart was ripped out of it's chest and put on a pedestal for all to see. That teacher read him like a textbook, and seeing how demoralized Jackie looked, he wasn't about to stand for any teacher going after her like that."

In a clearly aggravated tone, he said, "I do apologize for not paying my fullest attention ma'am, but I believe that you owe Jackie here an apology for making her look so bad." The entire class seemed to raise an eyebrow at him and his defense of her, but all eyes were on the teacher. "Since this is the first day of school, I will let you taking an inappropriate tone to a teacher slide. However, I do acknowledge that I crossed a boundary for you two that you hadn't crossed yet, so for that and making a joke out of something that didn't need to be joked about, I am also sorry." She clasped her hands together, exhaled, and said, "Alright, now that that's over with, I say it's time we go over to the lab to practice basic safety features in order…"

Somehow, to Marco, the teacher's words mattered even less to him than they already did. _'Ferguson, I told you so. That's one more thing I know about her, one more thing I know I can admire her for, rather than project onto her. I fucking told you so.'_

Right beside him, Jackie was busy thinking about what she had just done. _'Well, there goes any chance of getting my friends._ She looked to her side, a distracted look in Marco's eyes. _'This is it Jackie. Maybe your long shot isn't so long after all.'_

* * *

A loud ringing suddenly went through everyone's ears, as Mrs. Taylor dismissed her class for the first time of the year. "Alright class, you have your lab safety agreements for both you and your parents to fill out, everyone have a wonderful day and I will see you tomorrow." She did notice two students who were lagging a bit behind, still packing; Marco and Jackie. She could swear they were deliberately trying to go slower, but she honestly couldn't tell. "Ahem. Are you two gonna finish up?"

Startled, the two students looked up at the teacher and back down at themselves, blushing as hard as ever, and now rushing to finish putting their belongings in their bags. Marco muttered, "Excuse me," as he rushed from the row to the exit. Jackie, almost inaudibly, said "sorry" as she passed by her teacher out of the classroom. She couldn't help but shake her head. Mrs. Taylor said aloud to no one in particular, "I don't know where those two are going, but they're definitely going places. That'll be fun to watch, for whoever cares."

* * *

"Hey, Marco! What's up? … No, that won't do." Jackie was pacing around a swiftly emptying hallway, completely unsure of what had happened during her first period. She had study hall, and she had already told her teacher that she was feeling unwell, so she would be down in the nurses' office. It was total bullshit, but it didn't matter. What mattered was lunch. "So Marco, how 'bout first period huh… come on Jackie! There has to be something to say to this guy, he's just a…" Before she could finish talking to herself, she saw just down the hall the very object of her affection, pacing around and muttering to himself, just as she was. She stopped, took a deep breath, and yelled to him, "Hey Marco!"

Marco stammered, "H-Hey, Jackie. What's up?" He mentally slapped himself. _Could you have possibly said something more canned and cliché?_ "Oh, not much, really. Just thinking about…" She stopped herself. _Should I really bring it up right afterwards?_ "Just thinking about class."

Marco was curious. "What about it?"

"Well, my sudden interest in physical science threw off a couple of people, I guess. You included, I saw."

Marco blushed. "W-What? Me? Thrown off? Pfft, as if." He looked at her, vulnerability in her eyes, and said, "Well, maybe a little. I don't really think anyone really took you for… you know… someone like me."

Jackie sighed and said, "You know, I wasn't always like this. I used to be a skater girl, and that was about it. Then I saw what you were doing in school, and it looked really interesting…"

Marco laughed. "Me, doing something interesting? Now that's a new one, I've gotta admit."

"So I started reading up during the summer. I wanted a connection to people like you, ya know, to try and make some more of myself."

Marco couldn't help his face turning more red by the second. "Heh, well, you were already really great before you tried to change your image…"

They both turned around, slightly embarrassed to face each other. Jackie was giggling in her head, but she had to wait until lunch. Suddenly, the bell rang once again. Marco said, "I think we need to get to class, Jackie. S-Should we talk over lunch?"

"I'd like that." And with those three words, they parted ways.

* * *

"Wow. Seems like you were really close with this girl."

Marco sighed. "You have no idea. I thought I just loved her for her looks, and then, in the beginning, she looked to be one of the smartest, most loyal girls I had ever seen, especially considering how she would be shunned by basically everyone but me. She went from being one of the coolest girls in school to a loser, like me."

As Marco and Star trudged along, snow beginning to lightly fall again, they couldn't help but hold hands again. Almost inaudibly, Marco said, "Forgot how soft a woman's touch is." _You really just fucking said that?_

"You… you forgot how soft a woman's touch is?"

"Umm, yeah. It really has been a long time since anyone remotely like you has ever been around me. I'm sort of amazed you haven't bolted yet."

"Are you kidding me? You're the closest thing I've had to a friend in over a decade. Plus, you really get me. You ran away from your problems, just like me."

Marco gripped her hand tighter, mentally trying to record every detail of her hands, the warmth, the softness, the seeming comfort in the intimate gesture she provided.

"I think we need to move to find shelter soon," said Star, noticing Marco's shiver due to the loss of his hoodie.

"Agreed. But let me continue. Now it was lunchtime-"

"Wait a second, before you continue, I want to know how the hell you remember all this like it was yesterday. The amount of detail is incredible."

Marco sighed. "It's part of the human brain's function to store all of your memories, and for most of them, it only stores the general details and feelings from the event, but anything important that it decides it needs to latch onto and keep-" _Or torment you and hold you back for 20 years._ " is stored in a way that allows for rich detail recall. Plus, Jackie told me her whole side of the story too. At least what I thought was her whole story. I never knew the kind of friendship she had with those cheerleaders beforehand."

"Oh, I see. Carry on."

"So as I was saying, lunch was going to be the fateful event that decided how Jackie and I would go on in high school."

* * *

"Chicken nuggets?"

Marco turned to see Jackie right next to him in the line to choose their food. "Oh, yeah, right. They're the same as the ones at the middle school, and they aren't half bad, considering this is a public high school."

"Totally, private schools would have much nicer food than this, but they do well with what they're given to work with, I'll be honest."

"Are you going to keep belittling our food or are you going to move up in the line?" said the lunch lady arranging a salad on Jackie's plate.

Jackie spoke up for the both of them. "Sorry ma'am, we didn't mean any offense to the food. We enjoy every bite."

"Uh huh. _We,_ " she mumbled as she served the next students in line.

"Thanks, Jackie. Considering you've known who I am since kindergarten, you probably know that I'm not good in situations like that."

Jackie smiled. "Of course. Good ol' Awkward Marco." Immediately she covered her mouth as Marco looked away. "Oh, I'm so so sorry, I didn't mean to-" Then Marco started bursting out laughing.

"Oh man, have they been calling me that for a while now? That's hilarious! Props to the 2nd grade level of creativity."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "A little bit. Being completely honest, I've been finding it endearing as of late."

There was an air of silence between the two for precious seconds as they inched closer towards the checkout line. Marco broke the silence as he scanned his ID badge at the register. "So, uh, heh, I'm starting to think you might be the one out of the two of us that needs to work on what they're saying, am I right?" He sighed a little, continuing, "Not really, I know, but it's the best I got-"

It was Jackie's turn to laugh. "Are you kidding? The kind of humor that takes advantage of things you realize are true after the joke is the best kind!" She patted him on the back, as if they had been friends for years, rather than seemingly hours. She scanned her own ID and said,"You wanna get seated?"

Marco replied, "Of course."

As they took their table, basically two seats and a slab of wood held up by a metal pole, they both caught the glances of friends, past and present. Jackie saw Chantelle shaking her head in disapproval and turning back to the rest of the cheerleaders to gossip. Marco stole a glance from the ever-infamous duo, Ferguson and Alfonzo. Ferguson saw who he was sitting with, a smile creeping up on his face, but immediately wiping it off and focusing again on Brittney Wong. Alfonzo appeared to do the same at first, but when his friend wasn't looking, he smiled and gave Marco a thumbs-up. _Maybe there will be a way to reconnect, despite how shitty I've been._

For nearly 5 minutes, they two sat at their table, not saying a word. Jackie was nearly halfway through her salad, her mouth agape as she was lifting the fork full of salad to her face, when she saw Marco picking at his food while slightly grinning. _This is your chance to get close to him. Who knows- maybe he'll be fun too._ "So Marco."

Marco clearing his throat, he said, "Yes?"

"Listen, I think you may have an idea as to why we're sitting down at this table together, and though I'm not sure it's exactly the same idea as mine, I'm sure it's something close. I say that we speak our minds freely about what we're thinking about each other, nothing left out. We haven't every really had a conversation together, each of us being just a 2-dimensional face in a crowd to each other until today. I think it's best if we just share our feelings, just get everything out of the way. That way we can continue without heavy hearts. Sound good?"

"Um, er, I don't know if it would be appropriate of me to say right now, maybe it's not a good time-"

"No time like the present Diaz."

"Did you just call me by my last na-"

"On the count of three. True feelings about each other. Hype train is real. 1…"

"Really Jackie, it's just that-"

"2…"

"Ok, are we really-"

"3!"

At that moment in time, everyone around them seemed to slow down. They both looked at each other, the same look in their eyes. At the same time, they both said, "I REALLY REALLY LIKE YOU!" Their breathing was more heavy, the rest of the cafeteria looked at them, all of them starting to process what had happened.

The cheerleaders were stunned but prepared. They looked at each other, and shrugged. "Nice knowing you, Jackie," said Leah. Ferguson tried to show little emotion, but a smirk made its way to his face, pride starting to swell. The same couldn't quite be said about Alfonzo and the entourage of football players, uber-popular teenage girls, and people trying to fit in. All of them had their mouths wide open, some in shock, some in awe, all impressed. However, they soon went back to texting and mingling. Those that were around them but were not familiar with the two were surprised by the sudden outburst, but not fazed, and soon went back to eating.

Jackie was ecstatic. _Maybe I should just die right here. I'd die on top of the world, no one able to drag me down in this moment. We're getting close._ "Um, Marco, maybe we should talk a little more about that outburst of raw, pent-up emotion."

Marco, though still feeling paralyzed out of sheer joy, said, "I think that'd be good. Mind if I start?"

"Sure, go ahead, I think I need to process this a bit more while you're talking."

Marco took a deep breath, now unafraid to say anything. "It has to have been since I first saw you in kindergarten. I didn't know the name for the emotion at the time, but I knew that you were beautiful, and that even though I thought it would never be, given who we are, or who we might have used to be, I couldn't help myself. I lost my friends defending my idolatry of you."

"And I'm pretty sure I just lost mine admitting _my_ idolatry of _you._ "

Marco saw the cheerleaders Jackie normally mingled with walking out of the doors in the direction of the courtyard from the cafeteria. A surge of guilt washed over him, and it was plain for Jackie to see. "No no no, it's not your fault. If they left, then they were never friends to begin with. Besides, I have you."

They couldn't help but smile. "I guess we'll just have to be loners together."

Jackie frowned and said, "That doesn't sound quite right. I'm thinking more along the lines of… _lonely_ together. No matter what anyone else says or does, we'll have each other to be lonely with."

"That's it."

* * *

"So this is a great love story and all, much better than mine, in which an actual demon colluded with my parents to date-rape me, but this doesn't explain why you're so grumpy. Also, just to point it out because no one else is around to do it for me, that was a really awkward way of admitting you guys loved each other."

Marco sighed. "First of all, I was hormonal with a whole bunch of something to say, so don't judge me from 20 years ago. And please don't say the L word. It doesn't mean shit. Besides, I haven't finished yet. It's because of everything working out so well that I got clinical depression and a few mini-me's on my shoulder to tell me what to do."

"A few mini-wha?"

"What I'm trying to tell you is that you need to listen to me. There's a specific arc I have to go through that helps with the story."

"Well sorry."

"It's fine. Anyway, I'll skip past most of the lovey-dovey stuff, because I'm pretty sure you already get that we were a good pair. To paraphrase, we've all lost our other friends, but we have each other. By the way, we aced every single test we got in that physical science class, as well as history, literature, and math. Interesting point about math- our teacher low-key looks like a troll. Not even joking, I'd have to show you a picture, but it's freaky. Guess it's from all those long years of teaching. Anyway, we have each other, and we always would. That is, until life had other plans."

"Wait, what's an ace of a test, and how does life have a plan?"

"That doesn't matter. Alright, skipping forward a couple months. I have one moment in particular I want to tell you about. It was just another day in the life of two wandering loners…"

* * *

"Come on Marco, hurry up already! We've gotta get to the park before sundown if we're gonna go camping!"

 **November 20, 2015**

"You know, we may have totally earned it after that benchmark earlier today, but there's no rush. It's only 6:30."

"Marco, what are you talking about? Isn't it all about rushing through life? That's what they say, right?"

"Actually, that's the exact opposite of what they say. Take it slow, enjoy every second you have with the people you love."

Jackie turned around from her joyful skip, to plant a kiss right on Marco's lips. "Maybe it'd be a bit easier to enjoy every second if you actually stuck with me."

Marco returned the favor with an even longer-lasting kiss. "Maybe it would, but then again, I enjoy lecturing you on the many facets of life and school, the first of which I very much knew so much about before we started hanging out."

"Hanging out? Boy, you went straight to trying to suck my face off with your Dyson-vacuum-lookin'-ass mouth and your swivel-action tongue in 24 hours."

"You know I don't give just anyone the Dyson treatment. Only the ones I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"With that kind of talk, any other girl you'd like to give the Dyson treatment to would flat-out run to the nearest computer to get on their tumblr and talk about how they'd been approached by a serial rapist wanting to love them for the rest of their life. Luckily, I'm just a special kind of girl."

"You're my kind of special kind of girl."

"Ooo, was that an innuendo I heard?"

"Possibly, but you know the rules that we for some reason made at the lunch room table 4 minutes after we were done shouting our deepest desires at each other while barely knowing each other. Stay abstinent for 3 months into our thing so we a) don't give it up too soon in case of a break-up, and b) make sure one of us comes clean about any possible STD's they might have, and since we only have 10 more days of punishing ourselves with the theme of Reagan-era slogans on AIDS, I'd keep those innuendos at heart."

"That's what I like to hear, Marco. November 30, and we're at my house, grinding all of our fuckin' tension away until it's either 3 in the morning or someone files a noise complaint."

The two bantering, skipping lovebirds made their way to the public park, Marco carrying their tent and chairs, Jackie carrying their sleeping bags, clothes, and hammocks. They were prepared for a nice weekend away from parents and responsibilities.

"How about over here?" Jackie ran over to an area under a large tree, with enough shade left to keep them cool in the still warm autumn of Southern California.

"Perfect."

"Just drop everything here Marco, I wanna do something before we set up camp."

"Like what?"

"I dunno, let's go on a run or something. Anything to get you active."

"Jeez, you sound like my dad."

"That's what I was going for, but seriously, let's get the blood pumping! Jog to your dojo?"

Marco hesitated, then said, "Oh, what the hell. I'm all in!"

"Aaaaand, GO!"

With that, they were off to snake through town at a brisk pace, enjoying each other's company and competitive spirit. It was in everything they did, from who's at the top of the class what day to their individual athleticism.

"Jackie, I would normally let you win, but I'm feelin' extra greedy today. I just can't HELP MYSELF! Woo!"

"In your dreams, greenie."

"Hey, you know I'm a red belt now!"

"You're still my little green belt."

"Any chance you had at victory just vanished, little girl."

"Was that a real challenge from Marco Ubaldo Diaz?"

"Indeed it was, and it looks like I'm about to make good on my challenge."

As they neared the final stretch, they approached the intersection just before the dojo. Marco ran across it with ease, but Jackie hesitated. "What's wrong, Thomas? 'Fraid of the street?"

She sighed, saw the red light, and crossed. "No dumbass, I'm afraid of what drives on it. Assholes go 70 at this intersection all the time, and I'd rather not be in front of it."

"Rightfully so, but it appears as though I have crossed the final stretch before you due to your hesitation, therefore I WIN!"

She finished crossing the street, graceful in defeat. "I wouldn't say I necessarily lost though, I get to see you at the finish line." They kissed tenderly on the sidewalk, blocking out any and all surroundings, if only for a moment.

* * *

The tent had been set up for hours, but the grass was all Marco needed with Jackie to see the stars. "You already know a whole bunch about astronomy, right?"

Jackie replied, "Of course. What do I look like, some dweeb who doesn't care about the infinite wonders of space? What kind of a person doesn't like astronomy?"

"I figured. So I guess I'm just going to be telling you stuff you already knew just to make one long-winded point about love?"

"That you are, my sexy, beautiful, science-inclined friend whom I have reaped the benefits from."

Marco sighed. He could listen to that sarcasm all day. "So let's say the entire universe is earth. The observable universe is America, the Laniakea supercluster is California, and the Local Group is Echo Creek. We're one of the small galaxies in the local group, not Andromeda or the Milky Way, rather, us together, we're one of the tiny ones that is content with living in it's smallness. But it survives and thrives because it sticks together. That's what we do."

"Is your shitty analogy over?"

"This one, yes. I'm on to one more. Say that every star in the sky represents a person. Sailors have forever used their North Star to guide them to safety, and in this case, you're my North Star. I felt alone until I realized you cared, and you guided both of us towards togetherness. Does any of this make sense?"

"Marco, you're smart as hell, but you're terrible with analogies. It doesn't matter though." She rolled over and kissed him on the cheek, a smile on her face. "I got it."

"Jackie, I love you."

"Marco, what did I say about the L word? Only use it if you really mean it. Or you're really shooting for the moon." She paused, then decided to finally go for it. "I love you too, Marco."

"That's all I've ever wanted to hear."

The tent laid open for the rest of the night, as neither Jackie nor Marco would dare ruin such a perfect moment under the stars.

* * *

"You loved her."

"Yeah. I did. I don't like the word anymore, but yeah."

Star stopped. "Then why are you trying to forget?"

Marco looked her dead in the eye, and said, "I never want to forget the good times. I just want to forget how they ended."

"How did they end?"

"You really want to know?"

"No more dragging it out."

Marco sighed. "Look, high school wasn't great. I didn't focus on my studies because I was hanging out with Jackie, and as time went by, my grades dropped to include a few B's and even a C. By senior year, I was #58 in a class of 150. Then came graduation day, and I didn't have anything planned after that. When I shook my principal's hand, I'll never forget what he said- 'You're a good kid, but I've watched you play yourself because of a middle school crush you carried into high school. Don't fuck it up out there.'

"What did he mean when he said that you played yourself?"

"He meant that I played myself. I didn't think about my future at all. I threw everything I had away for Jackie."

"But you loved her-"

"I still do. She just never felt the same."

"WHAT? AFTER EVERYTHING? No way."

"I invited her to prom, and she said she was busy. I went by myself to prom and found herself dancing with Ferguson. Brittney Wong got into a car crash as a sophomore, and Jackie and Ferg started dating behind my back. After that, I went to her old cheerleader friends, who told me that she led me on to get help with school, but when I stopped trying, she stopped really being interested. Those first days, her knowledge was real, but she only did face-value studying, nothing intense. Face value get's you through middle school, but not high school. I was her safety net, and once she realized that she had a decent partial scholarship, she dumped me, leaving all the time we spent together in the past. Even more, my parents found out about her cheating and never told me. I realized that I had fucked everything up for A STUPID GIRL WHO DIDN'T LIKE ME ENOUGH TO COME CLEAN AND BREAK UP WITH ME!" With that, Marco got to his knees, slowly sinking downward into the snow, pounding his fists at the ground. Annunciating every word with a punch to the snow, he said, "WHY. DOES. EVERYTHING. I. LOVE. NOT. LOVE. ME!" With that, he started sobbing, the salty tears becoming a part of the snow.

Star decided she couldn't take seeing him like this anymore. She cared too much about this man, this man who helped shelter her in a blizzard, this man who has willingly traveled with her and poured his heart out in a way he clearly hasn't ever done before. Star took a deep breath, leaned down beside her companion, and kissed him on the cheek, stopping him immediately.

Marco stared at the snow, trying desperately not to make eye contact with the princess. _"You're not about to just shut her out like your friends, college roommates, old coworkers, and even your family, are you?" 'What choice do I have? I'd only hurt her and myself if I gave her a chance.' "But it would only make you feel better, and think- she needs a guy to marry so she doesn't have to go home with a guy she hates, you could really get to know her like you did Jackie, and you could live happily ever after! Don't you want that kind of an ending?"_ Marco exhaled loudly. _'I just can't do it. Both of you are wrong.' "Both of us happen to_ be _you, telling you exactly what you want and need to here but have chosen to block out. Block us out on this one and you'll most likely be dying alone. The girl wants to make you feel better. Let her."_

"Star… I don't know what to say."

Star shifted around, then said, "I think I do. After one bitch broke your heart after trusting her with everything, pouring out your entire heart to this girl, trying to fill the void, you decided you wouldn't let anyone else get the chance. I think it's time you come back to the real world. Please. For me. I… I understand what it feels like to be manipulated. So maybe, maybe we could stick around each other after we get out of this storm."

Marco looked to his shoulders, looking for any advice at all. Nothing but a whisper- _"You're on your own."_ Still on his knees, he whispered, "I think I'd like that."

Star looked around at the surrounding area, nothing but snow and trees in sight. "Look, Marco, I don't know where we're going to go, and it's starting to get dark, but I'm staying with you. You're my guide, and for what it's worth, my friend. And also a heat source so I don't freeze out here. I hope you're not done there, because I want to hear what happens after your schooling, and why the hell you seem to have such disdain for your parents. By the way, you look like you're about to freeze to death, so I wanna give you your jacket back. I see why you like it so much though."

This got Marco to stand up. "I appreciate the thought, but you need it more than I do. After all I've been left out in the cold over my life, I think I'll be able to deal."

Star took his hand, and told him, "This jacket is ours. It doesn't look like we're going to find real shelter before night, so I say we lay down here in the snow and rest. We'll keep each other warm, and the jacket will be our pillow."

"Look, Star, as much as I've enjoyed your company, you don't have to share that with me if you don't want to-"

"Marco?"

"Star?"

"Just shut up and lay down with me."

Star sat down by a thick pine tree, patting the ground, signaling Marco to sit next to her. As the sky darkened, they locked hands, closed the distance beside themselves, and laid their heads on Marco's beloved hoodie. While Star was thinking of the inevitable search party her kingdom was sending out around the galaxy, and Marco was trying to think of ways to avoid being soaking wet by morning, they both had one thing on their minds in common: each other. And as they drifted off into their slumber, Marco's inner voices were starting to fade away.

 _"Do you think he'll be fine without us?" "He always has been. All he needed was someone to take our place." "And it looks like he may have found her."_

 **A/N: HOLY FUCK I'M DONE! I can't even believe it! Just under two months since my last update of anything! Miss me?**

 **As I said up there, reviews fuel my work, and I really hate begging for them like this, but it really did bum me out that I didn't really get any feedback for SoT Chapter 4. Anything is better than silence, guys.**

 **Other than that, I hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter.**


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